There I was, standing at a bar one day, when a buddy of mine tells me about Grouper; he said it was a game changer. It sounded awesome, so I looked it up, conscripted a couple of my guys...and the next thing we know, it’s Thursday and we are on a our first Grouper.

There I was, standing at a bar one day, when a buddy of mine tells me about Grouper; he said it was a game changer. It sounded awesome, so I looked it up, conscripted a couple of my guys...and the next thing we

Grouper, a new dating website for Houston, is trying to make it easier to date by eliminating the awkwardness and the stress. Instead of setting you up on a one-on-one blind date, Grouper sets up dates between two groups of friends, three men and three women.

Michael Waxman, founder and CEO started the company in New York in 2011. He explains it this way:

“Meeting a stranger is intimidating, but when you are there with your friends you are more comfortable and more likely to be yourself. There are just enough people to talk to, but not so many people that you don’t have a chance to talk with everyone.”

Unlike other dating sites, Grouper is all about getting people together in the real world. A man, or woman, picks two other friends and the company finds another group of three to pair them with. There is no way to contact the other people before your Grouper, and each Grouper has a concierge who is in charge of all the hard planning. For $20 per person, all you’re required to do is show up and have fun.

“You can sort of think of it as an amazing night in a box.” Waxman said.

Houstonian Emily Prevost, 26, said she tried it and though there was no second date, she had a great time and met some new and interesting people.

“It was a great experience,” she said “and I think we would all hang out again as friends.”

Prevost heard about Grouper through a friend on the West Coast. The company operates in 25 cities across the country including San Antonio, Dallas and Austin. It launched in Houston this spring.

“I saw it on my friend’s Instagram.” she said. “I asked her about it, and I thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to try it out.”

Grouper tries to pick out cool bars where you can meet up with the rest of your party. Prevost’s Grouper date met up at a bar in Rice Village.

“We had a couple of drinks and then we went to a sports bar to watch the rest of the NFL game that was going on.” she said.

Prevost predicts that Grouper will be a huge hit.

“I think it’s going to blow up in Houston.” she said “There are so many young singles and business professionals, and [Grouper] makes it so easy to use that I think it’s really going to grow.”